


Little Things (They Can Pull You Under)

by monanotlisa



Category: Good Wife (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Female Character of Color, Canon Bisexual Character, Canon LGBTQ Character, Canon LGBTQ Female Character, Comfort, Desi Character, Episode Tag, F/F, Female Character of Color, Female Friendship, Female Protagonist, Female-Centric, Gen, Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-27
Updated: 2012-03-27
Packaged: 2017-11-02 14:58:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/370250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monanotlisa/pseuds/monanotlisa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>No one says her name like Alicia does. It's not her tone, and it's not the emotions behind it at this moment (worry-curiosity-<i>care</i>). It's the lilt on the 'l' and the breathlessness infused in a name she herself has -- stellar body imagery notwithstanding -- always thought of as lacking in poetry. That's okay; she does too. Her prose is perfect, and gets the job done. </i>
</p><p> </p><p>Episode tag for 3x19 "Blue Ribbon Panel".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Things (They Can Pull You Under)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [norgbelulah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/norgbelulah/gifts).



  


"Kalinda --"

No one says her name like Alicia does. It's not her tone, and it's not the emotions behind it at this moment (worry-curiosity- _care_ ). It's the lilt on the 'l' and the breathlessness infused in a name she herself has -- stellar body imagery notwithstanding -- always thought of lacking in poetry. That's okay; she does too. Her prose is perfect, and gets the job done.

"Yeah?" Kalinda turns; it's a perfect 180°.

"Did you talk to Agent Delaney?"

 _So to speak._ "I did." Kalinda breathes out, considers her next words. "Maybe we should too."

Alicia, out of character and enough so to startle Kalinda, huffs out a short laugh. "Of course. Now of all times." There's a curve to her tastefully outlined lips that is slight but sharp, and even though Kalinda can see it's not edged toward her at all, she still wonders for a moment whether she should take a step back, out of reach.

"Later?" she offers, and simple as it may be it's also disarming, because Alicia blinks, and her eyes focus fully on Kalinda. She can see the wheels turn in Alicia's head. They've probably been doing this for a while now, and at a pretty frightening pace too. 

"Okay," Alicia says, even conjures up a smile: one that looks and feels real. Feels real to Kalinda, at any rate. "Tonight, at the bar? Nine pm?"

"I'll be there."

And Kalinda is. What she does has no value if her word doesn't. She doesn't begrudge Alicia her mild tardiness, though -- not because she's Princess Alicia, as she heard Second-Year Ben mutter under his breath at the master copying machine earlier today. Everybody at this point in their life, and certainly at _Lockhart and Associates_ , has their plates full. But there's still a difference between not being able to see the china any more and juggling a plate that's heaped three feet high and comes fresh out of the oven, hot.

There's the tip-tap of heeled feet, first behind her and then to the side of the barstool. Kalinda purposefully doesn't turn around. Takes some effort, though. "Hey," she says, and then allows herself to relax, just a fraction.

"Hey," Alicia says. She's not actually the kind of person to use _Hey_ in polite and calm communication. _Jaisa desh waisa bhes_. Kalinda's a little pleased at any rate.

Alicia looks tired, but her posture echoes what Kalinda thinks she may be feeling here: that the day's work is done, and what follows is just as difficult, maybe more so. But it's not only about the professional sphere they both navigate with precision -- have to.

Alicia orders for the first time, Kalinda for the second. That's not what this is about. Alicia has better drinks at home, stored in mahogany or lacquered wood from some rainforest or other. 

Kalinda smiles at her. She's willing and able, but whatever people tend to think of her, she's not generally one for the first move. 

Alicia raises one eyebrow, leans in. "So, Agent Delaney. I understand; you still aren't allowed to talk about details of the investigations. But," and here Alica frowns, unnecessarily, because as ever her instincts are spot-on, "I'm getting the impression there's more, beyond." Her gaze is a dare. The double-dog kind.

Kalinda doesn't look away (and that's the simple part). "Agent Delaney and I have...a bit of a history." She lets that sink. "It's not likely to make any annals."

Alicia looks -- relieved? Amused? "I was -- Kalinda, no offence; I was just wondering why she seemed so --" she hesitates, takes another breath, continues, "persistent. Mostly because I thought it might have to do with previous engagements."

It does, and it doesn't. "On a professional level, Lana Delaney is and has been mostly about Lamar Bishop."

That gets her the famed raised eyebrows, both of them. "Bishop? But you haven't been involved in matters..." She trails off, and Kalinda marvels again at how this woman does it: Alicia knows fully well that there may be a few more aspects the managing parters are privy to but she isn't, but it doesn't come across as naivety. Maybe more like innocence. That should not be such a kick. Alica glances down the space between them, barstool to barstool. "Glad that this is all, on the level that pertains to the firm and the work you do -- the work you do."

 _For us? For them?_ Lockhart  & Gardner -- whatever its current exact name may be. Kalinda thinks it's an oversight that she doesn't know which one Alicia was going to choose before she broke off that sentence. How the mighty have fallen and risen and everything in-between. Kalinda thinks it's likely Alicia doesn't know, herself.

"Hey," she says, "it's also _everything else_. There is no personal level beyond what happened a while ago." 

Alicia looks up then, eyes dark and keen in ways Kalinda can't place and doesn't dare to try. "I'm glad. She didn't seem to have your best interests at heart."

Truth is, Kalinda doesn't know whether Lana's heart or mind is at the forefront here. She'd wager _both_ , actually. "She tried to get me to sign up for the FBI."

At that, Alicia laughs -- not incredulously; it's a genuinely amused sound. "That's one way to attempt recruiting."

Before she knows it, Kalinda grins. "Yeah." 

The moment stretches between them, but for once it's soft, sweet. Knowing. Alicia is fully aware of Kalinda's answer. Why exactly, Kalinda can't tell. She's willing to wager a lot of things. But there are fixed stars even in her universe. Not for their own sake but, well: their position. The access they mean.

She glances at Alicia's smile, at Alicia's hands on the counter of the bar. Kalinda reaches out and puts hers next to them. "I'll stick around, though."

"I know." Alicia turns, and Kalinda doesn't believe she's imagining what she sees in Alicia's eyes. Alicia glances down at both their fingers. Kalinda can hear Alicia's breath hitch, barely audible, before she nudges her pinky against Kalinda's. "I'll do too."  


**Author's Note:**

> Written for Norgbelulah, who needed some cheering up. This isn't break-out-the-pom-poms, but then again, neither of these two are either.


End file.
